BEAUTY PROBLEMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 October 1940, Page 8

BEAUTY PROBLEMS

POSITION OF COUNTRY WOMEN. HOME TREATMENT HINTS. * The country woman’s beauty problems are much different from those of her city sister, who is never far distant from a beauty salon. So often she has to be her own hairdresser, manicurist and masseuse. The out-of-doors woman spends most of her time in the open air; is usually a busy woman and often finds that beauty aids are difficult to procure. When we have a wind and heat toll-day on our skin and hair, an hour or more in a beauty salon soon restores our glamour . . . but not so the country woman. Her hands are often the greatest trouble. They easily show signs of wear and neglect.

The face and hair also require treatments which can be undertaken at home with little expense. So there is no reason why the country woman should not preserve her youth and beauty. First the hands! Because she has her hand in water so much the out-of-town dweller should keep a little bottle of honey and almond lotion near for application after immersion in water. This is to counteract the drying effect of the hard water. 1 HARD WATER. I There are few country districts I which have a water supply as free from line and salts as is that of the city. Water can be softened simply with borax, washing soda, or ammonia. For the face, hands, and hair, borax is best. Add a tablespoonful to every gallon of water. For bath water use washing soda. Three heaped tablespoonfuls of crushed soda to an ordinary bath is sufficient. !

Household ammonia will make the hardest water soft and silky. Use it for shampooing the hair. Add a little to boiling water, and let it stand until cool enough to use. This allows the ammonia fumes to escape and so is less harmful and drying to the hair. . So it’s an easy matter to have an abundant supply of soft water to keep the skin and hair healthy.

SHORT NAILS. Avoid scrubbing your hands with a nail-brush. It "hardens the skin and tends to encourage wrinkles. If small corns and callouses appear on the hands remove them by gentle rubbing with a smooth piece of pumice stone. Always rub towards the finger-tips, otherwise the skin may be torn. Keep your nails as short as possible. Country women and long clawlike nails, do not go together. A little warm olive oil massaged into the hands every night will keep them soft and supple. Next, your face! If a great deal of time is spent' out-of-doors the skin will be free from most of the minor blemishes suffered by city women, but it may need revitalising. It will be dry and tiny wrinkles may appear around the eyes through continually screwing them up while out in the sun. SKIN AND HAIR. There are two simple treatments which can be carried out to counteract this. During the daytime apply some calamine lotion to the face, thus helping to prevent the penetration of the sun’s rays. At night massage the skin with a liberal application of nourishing cream. Once a month the skin should be given a hot oil bath. Liberally coat the face with almond oil, then hold it over a basin of hot water so that the steam will help to drive the oil into the pores of the skin. After five minutes remove 6 with warm water and a good soap, dry thoroughly, and massage with cold cream. If the hair is dry, brittle, and sunbleached, it is advisable to give it a hot oil bath once a fortnight. This need not be at all messy if it is done correctly. First make a small parting in the hair and with a piece of cotton wool apply the oil: to the scalp. Continue all over the scalp in this manner and there should be little difficulty in keeping the oil from the hair itself. Sit in the sun for about half an hour, and massage the scalp continuously. Next apply a liquid shampoo to the hair, work up a good lather, and rinse. Repeat the process until all signs of oiliness have disappeared. On no account place water on the head prior to the shampoo. Water makes the oil cling to the hair and then it is more difficult to remove. Apply the shampoo first and then the water. These treatments are simple and inexpensive, but they are the means whereby the country woman with a limited income can preserve her youth and beauty with a minimum of' time and trouble.